April 24, 2024

Athens News

News in English from Greece

“On the table” the government has a compulsory test for everyone

The growing concern of the government and experts in connection with the mutation Omicron calls for additional security measures on the coronavirus during the holiday period.

The opinion of the Minister of Health Thanos Pleuris on the air of SKAI on this matter, who wants to “draw up a general epidemiological picture of the country”:

“We will spend both Christmas and New Years, and there is no thought of moving to restrictions that will relate to isolation. Consequently, closed areas will be exclusively for vaccinated people. We strive to test the entire population in order to obtain an overall epidemiological picture of the country. This is what we are looking at and will be discussing. We are concerned that at some point we would like to see a real big picture of the population, and in this sense, the test can help, without specifying when it is considered to be done on time. There is an unbalanced Omicron factor. “

The minister is trying to determine how great the danger is at the moment, so as not to be late with decisive measures in the event of the rapid onset of a new strain of coronavirus:

“We are in a fourth wave recession from the Delta option, which was hit hard in October and November. On the other hand, there is an unbalanced Omicron factor, and we are talking about a much higher transmissibility, while the incidence data are still inaccurate, and this makes us worry because there are some promising signs of an incidence, but the data are still insufficient. It is very important for our country to postpone this wave. “

The government still claims no isolation is planned. This afternoon, the Greek Prime Minister, who is in Bulgaria, initiated a meeting to find out where the country is now in terms of the Omicron mutation and vaccination (it seems to be gaining momentum). Government sources stressed that time needs to be saved to delay a massive invasion of Greece with Omicron infections.

New proposals from experts are expected for the holiday. Most likely, testing will become mandatory for a few days for everyone, on Christmas Eve and New Years, in restaurants and nightclubs, so that vaccinated people who may be asymptomatic do not spread the virus. Experts also propose to conduct a test immediately after the holidays – for students returning to school and for those who return to work after vacation.





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